Category Archives: Building

The band’s back together again! Brock drops into the studio to explain why he’s not returning to cohosting after all (it’s good news), parenting, and bicycle safety for infants, and Aaron & Guthrie catch up on their most recent adventures.

HeadlinesNew Donor!! Spartan Dale (no relation):
“I started with episode 133 and am up to 414. I loved the show with Aaron and Brock and have found Guthrie to be a great addition… as a Mexican kid growing up in rural Michigan …attending MSU, I immediately identified with Aaron, but the cast of characters in Portland has really made me want to visit, find the Beermongers -now what’s their address again? And ride to Battleground or to the Cascade Locks. Thanks for all you to do support cycling culture!”

This week, Mike Cobb tells us about his departure from an ordinary bike mechanic’s life into a quest to design and outfit a bike that can respond to crisis situations. How do you mount a windmill to a bike? And why? Well, when the grid goes down, you know who to call. Mike details his outrageous cycle tour through the American southwest and what he terms “radical disassembly” to make a cargo bike fit into a prescribed box for shipping. Among other things!

Also, Bicycle/Race, Adonia Lugo’s “…unforgettable picture of Los Angeles—and the United States—from the perspective of two wheels.” is available from Microcosm Publishing and wherever you get your books.

Hey, did you know that our friends at Path Less Pedaled have a podcast? Check it out!

Happy Holidays, all you Sprocket Podcast devotees! Or, as these socks suggest, happy Challah Days if that is appropriate to your observance.

Brock went to Boston as is his custom for the Christmas season, and while there he spoke with Michael & Bianca of the Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race, an amazing feat of engineering and teamwork that sees groups compete with homemade human-powered machines through obstacles such as a river and a mud pit. Listen to our interview conducted in the back office of a seasonal skating rink!

The Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race happens every third Saturday in September EVERY YEAR, so get your team together and your machine engineered!

Reid Lustig is an all-around game-for-anything kind of guy, which has lead him to such adventures as the half fictional drama, half travelogue music podcast The River Signal as well as long-distance bicycle tours, a season living south of the border, and his newest venture in mobile bicycle repair, SprocketFly. How can you pass up the opportunity to chat with someone this interesting?

Sean Stroup is working on the Gateway Green project in Portland, Oregon, a planned trail riding park that will leverage a large unused property on the east side of town to allow for the first real recreational off-road bicycling within city limits! What will it take to make it a reality?

Ben is a local bike shop mechanic with a lot of deep thoughts. We take the long way around while trying to keep the wheels on during the discussion on bicycle shops & customer service, shame and blame, cutrate online retailers, and more.

We met Daniel and Ashley at Cranksgiving 2015, the charitable alleycat race to benefit people in need. Daniel is a fascinating fellow, originally from Albany NY, who loves to restore and rebuild old bikes. We talk about wrenching on specialties, growing up around Amtrak, his touring aspirations, and more.

Also: Brock prepped for his summer adventure by climbing a mountain while his ride is in the shop, and Aaron attempted an early De Ronde!

Thanks to our generous sponsor The Beer Mongers and our Patreon donors that keep us going! And welcome to our newest donor Kampcite! Thanks to Josh Z for upping his support!

Jude Gerace is the proprietor of Sugar Wheel Works; we chat about what keeps us rolling, but first talk about bicycle storytelling event Live the Revolution, which she helped to start, and then cover wheel building and what she uses hers for.

Also: Aaron is still looking for a house, and Brock went to Eugene for the weekend.